Colt For Sale

Trite as it may sound but it is true that Sam Colt’s guns
are as “American as apple pie” and could well be branded as the “gun that won
the West”. The Colt legacy is made up of
more than 400 specific models of handguns and longarms inclusive of thousands
of subtypes and variants. In the course of its more than 176 years of
existence, Colt has produced 30 millions of revolvers, rifles and pistols. Back
in 1867, the recorded number of guns produced by Sam Colt himself was 400,000.

The company changed hands and ownerships several times from
its establishment in 1836 until the early 1990s. It has experienced boom in sales
every time the country faced conflicts such as the one against the Native
Americans to the Mexicans, to World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam
Wars, even the Cold War with Russia. The
company is presently known as the Colt’s Manufacturing Company. A separate entity of Colt is Colt Law
Enforcement which holds the exclusives to the design and manufacture of
firearms for law enforcement groups and the military.

Beginnings

Before
Sam Colt, pistols used either had one or two barrel flintlocks. Sam Colt’s
concept of a gun with a revolving cylinder containing 5-6 bullets was just in
the drawing board. Colt’s design of a revolver gun took off he obtained a
patent for it. He soon developed three other
models which are the belt, holster and belt. He also designed two types of long
armor rifles with one cocked by a finger level and the other one by a hammer.
Sales were slow that the company seized its gun production. However, the
company received a purchase order for 1,000 Colt revolvers from Capt. Samuel H.
Walker of the U.S. Army. The captain believed that the use of Colt firearms
played a major role in settling the conflict against the Native Americans in
1845. Capt. Walker wanted a new -reinforced revolver to use against the
Mexicans. Thus, the “Walker “was designed and manufactured in 1860. The Dragoon
Percussion was manufactured in 1861

The thrust of the company was to expand. In 1951, Colt built
and established a plant in England. He also bought a two-mile long front on the
Connecticut banks and built a dike to prevent the water from the river seeping
in the factory. The plant was
operational by 1855 and was incorporated as the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Mfg.
Co. It was equipped with the most innovative and up-to-date machineries of that
time. Colt once said that “there’s
nothing that can’t be produced by machine” and true to his words, the plant
produced highly uniformed pieces. Every
metal part of a Colt revolver was molded, then machined, fitted then stamped
with its special serial number, hardened and finally assembled. Colt’s reputation was superseded by none. The
Colt brand of firearms became synonymous not only with reliability but with
accuracy and superb craftsmanship the world over.Sam Colt made sure that his firearms were no ordinary
pieces. He meticulously inlaid gold and engraving on his products, even
manufacturing presentation pieces to head of states and royalties. He also took
specialized orders for special clients and bulk orders.

When
the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Sam Colt only supplied the Union
Forces. The armory was in full production that time. The following year, Sam
Colt passed away leaving his vast fortune to his wife Elizabeth Colt. The
company was under her management until 1901 when the company was sold to
investors.

Notable
guns that were manufactured during the 39 years of Mrs. Colt’s management, the company
produced a semi-automatic firearm called the Dr. R.J. Gatling machine gun. This
gun was operated by a hand crank that fed cluster of 6 to 10 barrels as it feed
ammunition into the breech. In 1872 the first breech-loaded revolver with
self-contained metallic cartridges came out.
This gun became the world-renowned Single Action Army Model 1873. This
model was a success and was dubbed the “Peacemaker” which was the precursor of
the metallic cartridge era. This gun was given the distinction of “the gun that
won the West”.

Colt’s
partnership with John Moses Browning resulted in the production of an
air-cooled, gas-operated machine gun M 1895, the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)
and the semi-automatic Colt.45 pistol. The Colt .45 Model 1911A1 became the US military’s
standard-issue sidearm during WWI and WWII. Colt became the primary supplier of
firearms for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Armed Forces. At about
this time, Colt also acquired the license to manufacture Thompson 1921 MSG.
Because there was a backlog of orders for the .45, the M 1917 revolver became a
substitute weapon.

In
anticipation of the slowing down of firearms production brought about by the
1929 stock market crash, Samuel Stone and William Skinner, as heads of the
company, ordered a diversification of products. Colt went into the manufacture
of plastics, sewing machines, calculators, dishwashers, motorcycles and more.
With careful planning and budgeting, the bulk of Colt’s employees did well
during the Great Depression. However the
company’s cash reserve was ate up.

Due
to the increasing demands of the U.S. Military during WWII era, Colt monetarily
stopped the production of the Single Action Army revolver so the gun company
can fill its backlog of orders. Colt manufactured more than 600,000 M1911A1
pistols and pieces of the M1917 water-cooled machine guns. When WW II ended the
demand for military arms declined and eventually came to a halt from 1945-47.
The company’s big move was to join forces with Penn-Texas to form the Colt Industries.

The
Vietnam War in the 1960s led to Colt’s boom years in the manufacture of
firearms. The U.S. Army adopted the M16 and Colt held the production rights for
this weapon. Some 5 million units were sold worldwide. By the end of the 1970s, Colt’s M1911A1 was
replaced by Beretta 92F.

The five-year strike by Colt employees came about as
they were asking for a wage hike. Colt took in replacements for their assembly
line that the quality of firearms made declined. The sub-standard firearms
prompted the U.S. military to award the production of the M16 to another
supplier. The strike eventually ended to
try to salvage the company but the harm was done. Colt was sold to a group of
private investors in the state of Connecticut. Colt designed and manufactured a
series of disastrous firearms such as the All American 2000. Poor product, poor
publicity and poor management led Colt to file for bankruptcy.

Colt’s
production of firearms despite Chapter 11 bankruptcy thrived. The company
designed and manufactured the commemorative 1995 “The Last Gun” (in reference
to the move from the Hartford Armory). This handgun was intricate and
embellished with the Colt family and lineage insignias. Other firearms made by Colt were the Colt
Match Target rifle, Colt .22 Target pistol and the Colt .38 SF-VI. The Colt .22
handgun was significant as it was named “Handgun of the Year” by no less than
the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence.

With
the several launchings of new firearms such as the Defender™ carry pistol, Pony®
Double Action pistol, DS II®
revolver , Gold Cup™ Trophy pistol and
the the Python® Elite revolver the company was back on its feet. Its
military business also came about as Colt won contracts to produce M4s and
M16s.The sporting community also enjoyed great firearms such as the Pocket
Nine™ pistol and the Colt Cowboy revolver.

It
is no secret that Colt and other leading handgun manufacturers, distributors
and dealers, had to face lawsuits from several municipalities all over the
United States. This was brought about by the most publicized public shooting in
1994. Colt brought in Lt. Gen William M. Keys USMC (Ret.) as head of the
company. Keys was able to guide the company through all the lawsuits and
reoriented the company towards law enforcement and military clients.

Today,
Colt’s Manufacturing Company is back and has been manufacturing modern firearms
for the public, law enforcement and military sectors. Below is a short list of
firearms currently sold by Colt. Under pistols are:Colt 1991 Series, Colt Defender, Colt New Agent, Colt XE Series, Colt Gold Cup and more.

Under
Revolvers are the Single Action Army and
New Frontier. Under Rifles, Colt
has the Carbines I and II. Under costume firearms are the Modern Masters and
Tactical package.

For
the law enforcement and military sectors, Colt’s offers Advanced Law
Enforcement Carbine, Advanced Piston System, Law Enforcement Carbine, the M4
Commando, Tactical Carbine and more.

The 1911 Government was manufactured by Colt. There are 5 different type(s) of 1911 Government ’s listed for sale.
The 1911 Government can be purchased as 22 Long Rifle, 45 ACP, 38 Super and is priced from $386 to $752.

The 1991 Series Government was manufactured by Colt. There are 4 different type(s) of 1991 Series Government’s listed for sale.
The 1991 Series Government can be purchased as 45 ACP, 38 Super, 9mm Luger, 9mm and is priced from $645 to $781.

The 1991 Series Commander was manufactured by Colt. There are 1 different type(s) of 1991 Series Commander’s listed for sale.
The 1991 Series Commander can be purchased as 45 ACP and is priced at $765.

The Combat Elite Government was manufactured by Colt. There are 1 different type(s) of Combat Elite Government’s listed for sale.
The Combat Elite Government can be purchased as 45 ACP and is priced at $874.

The Gold Cup Trophy National Match was manufactured by Colt. There are 1 different type(s) of Gold Cup Trophy National Match’s listed for sale.
The Gold Cup Trophy National Match can be purchased as 45 ACP and is priced at $958.

The XSE Government was manufactured by Colt. There are 4 different type(s) of XSE Government’s listed for sale.
The XSE Government can be purchased as 45 ACP, 9mm Luger and is priced from $1,018 to $1,070.

The Talo Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander was manufactured by Colt. There are 1 different type(s) of Talo Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander’s listed for sale.
The Talo Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander can be purchased as 45 ACP and is priced at $1,034.

The 1911 Wiley Clapp Government Talo Edition was manufactured by Colt. There are 1 different type(s) of 1911 Wiley Clapp Government Talo Edition’s listed for sale.
The 1911 Wiley Clapp Government Talo Edition can be purchased as 45 ACP and is priced at $1,101.

The Special Combat Government was manufactured by Colt. There are 5 different type(s) of Special Combat Government’s listed for sale.
The Special Combat Government can be purchased as 38 Super, 45 ACP and is priced from $1,874 to $2,337.

The Law Enforcement Carbine was manufactured by Colt. There are 4 different type(s) of Law Enforcement Carbine’s listed for sale.
The Law Enforcement Carbine can be purchased as 5.56X45mm NATO, 223 Remington.